COLD-HEARTED thieves have stolen thousands of pounds from an elderly army veteran - who had put the money aside for his own FUNERAL.

Thieves stole the money while 80-year-old army veteran Jimmy Smith was working on his allotment

Thugs forced their way into great-grandfather Jimmy Smith's home while the 80-year-old was working on his allotment.

He phoned me up and said, hurry up, get down here, they have taken everything

Karen Howarth, daughter

The former civil engineer was left "heartbroken" when he came home to discover £6,000 had been been stolen from his Hartlepool home, which he had put aside so his family wouldn't have to worry about paying for his funeral.

His daughter and primary carer, Karen Howarth, said: "He phoned me up and said, hurry up, get down here, they have taken everything.

"He is heartbroken. He keeps saying he has worked hard all his life and saved his money and he can't believe someone has done this.

"He is the nicest person. He would help a stranger.

"All he thinks about are his family and he lives very frugally - he could be more comfortable - because he wants us to be OK.

"We keep telling him to spend the money on himself but he had been saving it to pay for his own funeral so that we didn't have to worry about anything."

Mr Smith, who served in the Far East with the British Army during the 1950s, now suffers from crippling arthritis, a lung condition known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.

He also lives with a degenerative spine condition, called spondylosis, which causes him constant back pains.

However he still tries to spend as much time as possible at his allotment with the help of his family.

Related articles

He was working on the plot for an hour-and-a-half on Friday February 21, when the break-in took place between 12.50pm and 2.20pm.

Ms Howarth added: "It [the allotment] gives him a purpose. He is absolutely heartbroken at the moment.

"Not just about the money, but the fact that someone has been in his house."

Police are urging members of the public who might have seen anyone suspicious in the area around the time of the burglary to get in touch.

Any witnesses or anyone with information regarding the incident, or who is responsible, is asked to contact DC Jason Mactaggart from Hartlepool Volume Crime Team on the non-emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.